Calming Anxiety | Guided Meditation, Sleep Hypnosis & Panic Attack Relief

Sleep Story for Insomnia — The Hound of the Baskervilles, Chapter 7: The Stapletons of Merripit House by Arthur Conan Doyle | Books at Bedtime

 

A calming bedtime story for sleep and insomnia, read slowly and gently by Martin Hewlett of Calming Anxiety.

 

This is Chapter 7 of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic Sherlock Holmes mystery, The Hound of the Baskervilles — a free audiobook read designed to quiet a busy mind and carry you softly down into sleep.

 

Morning light floods the mullioned windows of Baskerville Hall, and for a moment the grim impression of the night before is eased away. But Dr Watson has a test to run at the Grimpen post office, and a walk out across the moor that will change everything he thinks he knows.

 

Out among the boulders he meets Mr Jack Stapleton, the naturalist of Merripit House — a man who knows the ground better than anyone, and who leads Watson to the edge of the great Grimpen Mire, where the earth itself waits to swallow the unwary.

 

And then, drifting across the moor, comes a long, low moan that the country folk have a name for.

 

If you struggle with insomnia, anxiety at bedtime, or a mind that will not switch off, this is a story to be listened to in the dark. There is no need to follow every thread. Let the words become a sound to rest inside, and if you drift away before the end, that is exactly as it should be.

 

Part of Books at Bedtime and Coffee Break for the Soul from Calming Anxiety, hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett — bringing you calm, relaxation and better sleep, one chapter at a time.

 

Sleep well, my friend.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

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Ad-Free Listening: Enjoy Calming Anxiety without ads at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety--4110266/support

 

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Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

I'm So Tired of Starting Over — Guided Meditation for Setbacks, Self-Doubt & Beginning Again | Coherence Breathing

 

If you are so tired of starting over, this 10-minute guided meditation is for you. Setbacks, false starts and the quiet exhaustion of beginning again can leave you convinced you are going backwards and somehow behind. This session is not going to ask you to be positive about that. It is going to show you something you have stopped being able to see.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, today's anxiety relief session uses coherence breathing, also known as resonant breathing, at six counts in and six counts out. At roughly five breaths a minute your heart rhythm and your breathing fall into step and synchronise, calming the nervous system and building resilience rather than simply distracting you. From there, gentle affirmations for self-doubt, self-worth and starting again settle you into a beautiful, trance-like state of deep relaxation.

 

This episode also carries a personal announcement. Six years after these meditations began with a microphone and not much of a clue, the Calming Anxiety app — Anchored — launches on Thursday the 13th of August. Slow, interrupted, unglamorous progress is still progress — and that is as true for you as it has been for me.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

 

* 00:00 – "I'm so tired of starting over" — you are not lazy, not weak, not behind

* 00:49 – Welcome, and why setbacks are not the end of the story

* 01:22 – A personal announcement: six years, a van, a microphone, and Anchored

* 02:31 – Settling: feet flat, shoulders down, eyes closed

* 02:41 – Coherence breathing explained — six in, six out, five breaths a minute

* 03:22 – Three guided rounds of coherence breathing

* 04:54 – Affirmations for setbacks, resilience and beginning again

* 06:41 – Deepening — drifting down with every out-breath

* 07:22 – Second pass of affirmations

* 08:51 – Your three daily caring tips

* 09:35 – Coming back to the room

* 10:07 – Anchored launches Thursday 13th August — put it in your diary

* 11:01 – In everything, my friend, be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

 

Let these words settle. You don't have to believe them yet — just allow them to land.

 

* I am still here, and that is not a small thing.

* I have come further than I have ever given myself credit for.

* I am not behind. I am on my own path, at my own pace.

* Setbacks have shaped me. They have not stopped me.

* I am allowed to begin again, as many times as it takes.

* I am building something, even on the days it doesn't quite show.

* The quiet work I am doing still counts.

* Every setback I have survived is already inside me as strength.

* I am becoming resilient, one ordinary day at a time.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

 

1. Name what you have already survived — write down one thing you have already survived this year and read it back to yourself tonight before sleep.

 

2. Make the next step almost silly — choose the smallest possible next step, so small it feels almost silly, and do only that today.

 

3. Turn the measurement around — when you catch yourself measuring how far you have left to go, turn it around deliberately and measure how far you have already come.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

 

Download Anchored on iOS. Access over 3,000 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. 👉 [Download Anchored on the App Store Today](https://apps.apple.com)

 

Anchored launches on Thursday the 13th of August. Please put it in your diary now, while you are thinking of it, before the day takes over. The more of us who arrive on the same day, the further it travels, and the more people it reaches who need it.

 

And if today's episode found something in you, please share it with someone who has been knocked back lately. You probably know exactly who. If you have thirty seconds, a rating and review on Apple Podcasts helps more people find their way here.

 

Sleep well, my friend, or go gently into your day. I'll be right here with you again tomorrow.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

👉 Click to subscribe and unlock ad-free episodes now!

 

Support the Show:

 

Ad-Free Listening: Enjoy Calming Anxiety without ads at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety--4110266/support

 

Buy Me a Coffee: Support hosting costs at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/calminganxiety

 

Newsletter: Subscribe on Substack at https://calminganxietypodcast.substack.com/?r=6zm0sc&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

The Hound of the Baskervilles, Chapter 6: Baskerville Hall by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

A sleep story for anyone lying awake with a busy mind. Tonight, Books at Bedtime continues Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles with Chapter 6 — Baskerville Hall — read slowly and softly by Martin Hewlett, host of Calming Anxiety.

 

Dr Watson leaves Baker Street behind and travels down into Devonshire with Sir Henry Baskerville and Dr Mortimer. Sherlock Holmes stays in London with his parting instruction: report the facts, and leave the theorising to him.

 

The journey carries them past sunlit orchards and gabled houses, and then out onto the great brooding moor. There are armed guards at the little wayside station, a convict loose on Dartmoor, and a house of long shadows waiting at the end of the avenue — and in the dead of the night, Watson hears the sob of a woman somewhere inside Baskerville Hall.

 

Let the words carry you. There is nothing to follow and nothing to remember — if you drift off before the end of the chapter, that is exactly what this recording is for. You can always come back to it tomorrow night.

 

This is a classic audiobook reading for relaxation, insomnia relief and deep sleep — part of the Books at Bedtime and Coffee Break for the Soul series from Calming Anxiety, hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

Take Calming Anxiety with you anywhere — download Anchored on iOS. Access over 3,000 searchable, offline-ready audio sessions, sleep stories with Books at Bedtime, and built-in nightlight features for the small hours. 👉 Download Anchored on the App Store today: https://apps.apple.com

 

If this reading helped you rest, please share it with someone who is struggling to sleep, and leave a 30-second rating or review on Apple Podcasts.

 

Sleep well — and in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

👉 Click to subscribe and unlock ad-free episodes now!

 

Support the Show:

 

Ad-Free Listening: Enjoy Calming Anxiety without ads at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety--4110266/support

 

Buy Me a Coffee: Support hosting costs at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/calminganxiety

 

Newsletter: Subscribe on Substack at https://calminganxietypodcast.substack.com/?r=6zm0sc&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

If you found yourself quietly wondering, "Why do I feel disconnected from myself?" or waking up with the unsettling thought, "I just don't feel like myself anymore," you are not alone. That heavy, numb feeling of watching your own life from a slight distance has a name—and it isn't a sign that anything is broken inside you. It is simply a tired nervous system asking for a safe place to land.In this episode of Calming Anxiety, clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett guides you through a gentle, 10-minute grounding meditation to soothe a frightened nervous system and help you come back into your body. Using a structured 4-2-6 breathing technique, slow somatic tracking, and calming affirmations, you will learn how to activate the body’s natural relaxation response without forcing or trying to "fix" your mood.Perfect for anyone experiencing emotional numbness, high stress, or a sense of detachment, this session reminds you that you don't have to think your way back into your body—you feel your way back through safety.Time Chapters00:00 – Why do I feel disconnected from myself? Understanding emotional numbness and a tired nervous system.
01:03 – Welcome to Calming Anxiety: Introduction by Clinical Hypnotherapist Martin Hewlett.
01:36 – The 4-2-6 Breathing Technique: Lengthening the out-breath to switch on the body’s relaxation response.
03:48 – Somatic Grounding & Body Awareness: Sinking into the supportive surface beneath you.
05:25 – Calming Affirmations for Self-Reconnection: Internal repetitions to feel present and safe in your body.
07:55 – Three Daily Caring Tips for a Happier Life: Self-compassion, letting go of perfectionism, and the healing power of a simple, physical touch.
09:22 – Gently Coming Back: Waking up the senses and returning to the room carrying this calm with you.
3 Daily Caring Tips to Carry with You TodaySpeak to yourself as you speak to someone you love. If the voice in your head is sharp or critical, pause and ask: “Would I say this to a dear friend?” You deserve the same softness you give so freely to everyone else.
Let "good enough" be enough. You don’t have to earn your own kindness by being perfectly productive or fixed. Accept the version of you that showed up today—wobbles and all.
Place a hand where you feel it. When you next feel that quiet drift or disconnection, rest a warm hand on your chest or stomach. It is a simple, tangible way of telling your nervous system: “I am right here with you.”
Connect & Support the ShowListen to more sessions: Find every single guided meditation and anxiety relief track on our website at CalmingAnxiety.fm.
Keep calm in your pocket: Download our premium app, Anchored, to access a structured library of tools built to ground your mind whenever anxiety strikes.
Be Kind: Remember to smile often, keep positive thoughts wherever you can, and above all, be kind to yourself and others today.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety-guided-meditation-sleep-hypnosis-panic-attack-relief--4110266/support.

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Sleep Story for Insomnia — The Hound of the Baskervilles, Chapter 5: Three Broken Threads | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off to sleep with a classic bedtime story. If insomnia has you lying awake, this gentle, slow-paced reading is designed to quieten a racing mind and carry you softly into deep, restful sleep.

 

Tonight, Books at Bedtime continues Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles with Chapter 5 — Three Broken Threads.

 

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson return to the Northumberland Hotel, where Sir Henry Baskerville is in a state over a missing boot. A bearded stranger has been following them through London. A telegram is sent to Devonshire to test whether Barrymore is truly at his post. And a cab driver named John Clayton delivers a piece of news that leaves Holmes quite speechless.

 

Three threads. All of them broken before the evening is out.

 

You do not need to follow the story. You do not need to remember a word of it. Let the voice become background — a warm, familiar presence in the dark — and let sleep arrive in its own time.

 

This is a public domain classic, read aloud for relaxation and sleep by Martin Hewlett, host of the Calming Anxiety podcast and creator of Coffee Break for the Soul. No sudden music. No jarring edits. Just a calm voice, a good story, and permission to stop thinking.

 

Perfect as a sleep aid, for insomnia, night-time anxiety, long journeys, or any evening when your mind refuses to settle.

 

Sleep well, my friend. In everything you do — be kind.

 

 

👉 Click to subscribe and unlock ad-free episodes now!

 

Support the Show:

 

Ad-Free Listening: Enjoy Calming Anxiety without ads at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety--4110266/support

 

Buy Me a Coffee: Support hosting costs at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/calminganxiety

 

Newsletter: Subscribe on Substack at https://calminganxietypodcast.substack.com/?r=6zm0sc&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.